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Needs advice

hello im looking to figure out what welder is best to help my buddy fix up his 92 GMC sonoma truck bed its rotted away and needs to be repaired. ive found a few reasonably priced welders but i need to know what would be great for this job. im not an expert on welding but i have welded in my home garage growing up. we used a gas mig welder and it got the job done fairly nicely. now im looking to purchase my own. what would be best for our project? gas mig or the gasless flux? ive never used a flux and i have no idea what its capable of. all input is welcome

Well, if I were me, and I am, I would find the smallest conventional 220 volt mig that uses C25 gas, and has a very short lead to the torch. That way I could load Esab EasyGrind .025" diameter wire. This wire is very soft,, and intended for bodywork as it is soft, melts smooth, bends and grinds easy. I use it for mig and tig.

I have .030 easygrind wire loaded in my Lincoln SP170T, and love it. I do sheet metal enclosures on occasion that have to have the seams ground off.

The Hobart Handler 190 is and excellent choice to run easygrind as it starts at 25 amps for that small wire. A plus is that it comes spoolgun ready. Tractor Supply has them for $650.

The Miller180 autoset is ok, but mig is so easy I don't think idiot restrictions are necessary.

Firstly that is a cheap chinese knockoff 115volt flux welder. Arc striking on sheet metal needs to be quick, smooth and precise, without drive motor lag, not eratic. There is a voltage drop the second you pull the trigger, and the last thing you need is that to affect the drive motor, hence 220. You see there is not accesories but the crappy Chinese autodark.

115volts, especially budget models just don't give that precision start the 220volt models do with the big transformers. You see in the description that it does not even list the .025 wire size, so forget about bodywork. They don't even give voltage ranges.

lol see this is why i came here first for info you prolly just saved me a heart break haha i was also looking into crafts man welders i have a budget of about $300-500 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...20Weldersmv=rr here is another one i was looking into and ty again for telling me not to get the other one lol

Don't buy anything from Sears (my opinion, of course). They're overprices on just about everything. I purchased my first welder there a couple of years ago. It came with a cart too. The whole package cost about $425. I kept it about a week. It couldn't weld (or I couldn't with that welder anyway) thin sheet metal and everyday when I went into my garage, that "Made In Mexico" label hit me right in the face! I took it back and got a Hobart Handler 140. Cost me about $40 more without the cheap cart. Great welder. Hobart 190 or the 210 mvp are even better. I've learned that you don't always get what you want, but you ALWAYS get what you pay for!

I agree with cruizer. Almost always cheaper and easier now days to find a donor.

If you do go with a mig for bodywork I would stick with the millermatic 140, 180, or 211. Or equivalent models from Lincoln, Hobart, or thermal arc. Look on Craigslist. Great deals on small migs for days. Don't be enticed by cheap off brand welders, you will regret not spending a few hundred more to to get something you can use for years.

Don't buy anything from Sears (my opinion, of course). They're overprices on just about everything. I purchased my first welder there a couple of years ago. It came with a cart too. The whole package cost about $425. I kept it about a week. It couldn't weld (or I couldn't with that welder anyway) thin sheet metal and everyday when I went into my garage, that "Made In Mexico" label hit me right in the face! I took it back and got a Hobart Handler 140. Cost me about $40 more without the cheap cart. Great welder. Hobart 190 or the 210 mvp are even better. I've learned that you don't always get what you want, but you ALWAYS get what you pay for!